The trio actively harassed the snake from 3 directions. Despite its speed, it couldn't keep up with the three of them.

Being his first fight as well as the weakest of the three, Lorian was more cautious and calculative in his attacks. For this fact, the snake thought he possessed the least threat and almost ignored him.

Finally, Lorian found the gap and mercilessly struck the snake's head when it was pinned down by other two's attacks

* Clank!

The attack rebounded and his arms turned numb. The scales on its head were tougher than he thought. This sneak attack failed, but Lorian didn't become disheartened. He once again went into passive, harassing mode and allowed the duo to weaken it over time.

The snake's speedy thrash and slippery dance, along with its tough scales reduced the damage it would take, but in the end, the young soldier was 1-star rank and Loki at the peak of the mortal realm. Injuries accumulated on snake's body. Its blood dripped down its scales, giving off bright red sheen under the sunlight.

The more it fought, the fiercer its attacks turned.

Unexpectedly, Loki and the young soldier coordinated well wordlessly and rendered the snake's assaults useless most of the time. This also made it crazier.

'Now!'

Lorian found the delay in snake's movement and decisively struck on its injured head, where scales were torn. The sword ripped through its flesh, unobstructed and went in almost halfway through. The snake gave a terrible cry in pain. Meanwhile, Loki and the young soldier also didn't delay and mortally wounded it, almost chopping it in two places.

- Let me!

Lorian yelled and delivered the last blow. The snake was in excruciating pain and couldn't react to continuous assault, but now, feeling the threat of death, its eyes turned bloodshot.

Its body twisted at an impossible angle and plunged its two fangs in Lorian's shoulders.

That was right before Lorian struck the mortal blow.

Now the snake died, but Lorian's shoulder area felt numb. Big amount of venom had been poured into him.

- Lorian!

Loki yelled and pulled out the upper body of the already dead snake from Lorian's shoulder.

'Shit, am I going to die here?'

Lorian panicked for a bit, but seeing the young soldier fine, his heart eased. Gritting his teeth, he knew there was no time to ask about treatment.

- I'm alright. This thing's not going to kill us, right?

Still, he couldn't help but inquire...

The young soldier, who panted from tiring battle replied hurriedly

- Of course not. In a minute, you'll feel your muscles convulsing and tightening. In an hour, you'll get paralyzed in bitten area. As long as you take the antidote in 24 hours, no lasting effect will remain...

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Lorian heaved a sigh of relief in his heart and no longer dawdled.

- We can't rest yet. If the rest die, we'll also have to follow them in graves. Let's help that guy.

Lorian pointed at the area, where a soldier was barely keeping up with the brown bear's vicious attacks.

- Alright, but I've taken too much poison. Though I'm tougher than you two, I will last at most 1-2 more minutes, then my muscles won't be able to take more.

The young soldier solemnly stated.

- Alright, 2 minutes are enough. Let's not waste any more time then.

The trio joined the fight. 1 VS 4 and the bear didn't seem disadvantaged. Its every swipe of claws were deadly and it exhibited terrifying vitality. Though it was wounded in many places and blood constantly flowed out of its wounds, its performance didn't drop.

In the end, it was barely beaten down in 2 minutes and fell in its own pool of blood. The beasts know no backing off, they usually fight to the death. Obviously, this bear wasn't one of the cunning types or more intelligent ones. After all, its power level was at the peak of the mortal realm. Still, with its physique, it easily suppressed 2 soldiers along with Lorian and Loki. In the end, it was weakened by blood loss and killed.

Meanwhile, the situation further deteriorated. 3 more soldiers, who fought on the platform perished. 2 of them fled, their status unknown. Lorian's team was exhausted and the young soldier was already thoroughly paralyzed. Lorian was a bit better with only his left hand being paralyzed and numb.

The crowd had long since dispersed, leaving bloodied corpses in the vicinity. About half of the initial 20 beasts were no longer seen and probably wrecked havoc in the city. From those which stayed near the platform and fought the soldiers, 5 more were killed, 2 seriously injured and 3 had minor wounds.

That's while only 3 soldiers remained capable of the fight and even they were exhausted. The beasts were once again outnumbering the soldiers and if reinforcements didn't arrive, casualties would increase and probably all of them would be killed off.

Lorian's heart was filled with despair as he realized the current situation, but there was nothing he could do.

- Aaaaaah~

Another soldier had his neck snapped by a cunning panther. He held his hand on the bleeding artery but in vain. He was losing too much blood.

It was at that time...

* Whoosh, whoosh

A giant shadow covered the area. Lorian looked up and was shocked to see the unforgettable scene.

A huge bird with a 4-meter long wingspan was flapping its wings above them. Its head and neck area were covered in fluffy, white feathers, while its remaining body was covered in light brown feathers. Its head was similar to eagle's head, while its tail looked like lion's tail.

With every flap of its wings, a huge amount of wind was stirred. Silhouette of humanoid figure sat on Griffin's head. Flickering sunlight made his face impossible to discern, but he wore majestic golden armor and radiated holy aura.

Suddenly, the light condensed into half-transparent, golden complicated looking swords and descended down on the monsters.

The beasts gave a terrible cry as the swords pierced their bodies with virtually no resistance. In but a mere seconds, the remaining 5 beasts were annihilated.

The mysterious, majestic man wordlessly disappeared into the sky as the griffin flapped its wings. He came and went like a wind.

Awestruck soldiers plopped on the ground, exhausted and happy, that they would see the light of another day.

- Paladin...

One of the soldiers said with reverence and envy.

The danger was gone. They were saved.

Lorian heaved a sigh of relief, thinking...

'Seems the commotion alerted some weighty figures in the city.'

Only a few minutes later did the reinforcements arrive. They asked the survivors multiple questions with a stern attitude.

Though Loki and Lorian's help was significant, they didn't receive anything. The duo should have been given their share, but in face of benefits, these soldiers turned their backs to them. After all, they were not even 1-star soldiers and they also couldn't afford to offend them.

Lorian dragged his fatigued body to the inn. His sorry figure created quite a commotion in the inn. Loki, whose injuries were superficial and was in much better condition visited at night and brought the antidote to Lorian.

Lorian once again remembered Loki's kindness and swore in his heart that he would help his friend too sometime in the future. He would never forget those, who treated him well.

Lorian had to recuperate for whole 3 days. Though he was still feeling weakened, he was much better than before.

Lorian smiled as he saw the system's battle log as he was lying on the bed.

'As I thought...my efforts weren't wasted after all.'